Chargers Search Begins Now

Panel Formed To Find New Coach, G.M.

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PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 09: Head coach Norv Turner of the San Diego Chargers looks on from the sideline during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on December 9, 2012 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Chargers defeated the Steelers 34-24. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)

Updated at 11:48 AM PST on Monday, Dec 31, 2012

So, now that Norv Turner and A.J. Smith are no longer with the team, the Chargers are on the hunt for replacements. As Sherlock Holmes might say, "The game is a-foot!"

That search is already underway. Charger President Dean Spanos has put together a 4-person team to find and hire the team's next head coach and general manager.

They are: current Chargers executives Dean Spanos, his son John Spanos, and Ed McGuire, along with former Packers general manager Ron Wolf, who's been hired as a consultant.

Their first order of business is to find the G.M., then have that person help in the process of finding the head coach, which makes sense because in today's NFL it certainly helps to have the G.M. and head coach on the same page (something the Chargers found out when Smith and Marty Schottenheimer couldn't play nice).

The Chargers said on Monday they will not be releasing, or commenting on, the names of potential interviewees because a lot of them are still employed by teams that are making a playoff run.

The general manager search should not take very long. Their best candidate is already in-house. Assistant G.M. Jimmy Raye is well respected by peers and players, and has shown the ability to be successful in a general manager role. Plus, the Chargers elevated Smith from his assistant role in 2003, so there is a precedent set.

The team also said Monday they are already asking permission from NFL playoff teams to begin speaking with candidates employed by those teams, so they are not wasting any time.